A golden moment for Tyne engineering firm.

A Tyneside engineering company has been given the gold seal of approval by US defence giant Lockheed Martin.

Gateshead-based Express Engineering has been awarded Gold Level Status by Lockheed Martin's Missiles and Fire Control (MFC) business unit preferred supplier program.

The award is in recognition of Express' commitment to ( and performance in ( the pounds 300m Javelin Light Forces Anti-Tank Guided Weapon Program.

Lockheed Martin's accolade recognises the company's achievement of "outstanding results" over a sustained period judged against strict criteria in areas such as delivery and quality performance, responsiveness and process control standards. Express is now numbered among a small elite group of suppliers in the Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control global supply chain.

Express Engineering managing director Nigel Davison said: "This is a very important achievement that reflects the success of our company-wide commitment to total customer satisfaction. During the award qualification period, we supplied Lockheed Martin with a total of 21,000 components, of which just 20 were rejected ( and every single delivery was made on time."

David Bowles, managing director of North-East defence industry body NDI (Northern Defence Industries), said the award was good news for the region as a whole. Mr Bowles said: "In 2002, we brought the Javelin Joint Venture procurement team to the North-East and introduced them to the NDI supplier base.

"Express Engineering lost no time in successfully negotiating entry to the Javelin program. This news is a result of their hard work, and demonstrates yet again the wealth of talent we have available here in the North of England."